Major life events often trigger a need to update your Will, but should you update your Will if you are moving across the country? Julie Seberras, Senior Manager of Wealth Planning Support at TD Wealth, joins Kim Parlee to discuss when a move to a new province, or even a new country, may require you to update your estate plans.
[AUDIO LOGO]
- We all know there are important times that you should be updating your will-- when you get married, married again, have children, divorce. But what about moving? Julie Seberras is a senior manager of wealth planning support at TD Wealth. She joins us now for this "Ask MoneyTalk."
Julie, great to see you. Today's question is, "I just moved to another province in the past year. Do I need to update my will?"
JULIE SEBERRAS: Great question. And as you mentioned, Kim, any life event-- and that includes moving-- it is always recommended that you check in with your financial plan, which includes your estate plan and any associated documentation, such as your will and power of attorney.
Here's where you're going to want to engage those specialists and those experts who are well-versed in estates, as well as well-versed in any provincial laws associated with that. Now, it's unlikely that you'll have to do a full rewrite of your will, but you'll want to make sure that any instructions that you have, any clauses, are reviewed to ensure that they are going to hold up in this new jurisdiction. So again, engage the right people to do the appropriate reviews.
- What if you're only moving, though, for a short time? That's a lot of work for a short move.
- It is a lot of work, but it is so important to do this work. And that's going to ensure that there's no delays or issues when it comes to executing your will or other documentation related to your estate plan. So the objective here is really to determine whether or not-- so what was your objective when moving? So are you intending to stay there permanently, or are you only intending to be there temporarily?
Now, let's say you have property and assets in both locations. You might want to consider a strategy where you have multiple wills to address the property and assets in each of those jurisdictions. And so again, work with the right people who understand those jurisdictions and whether or not this is the right strategy for you with those documents.
- What about-- just sticking with that, though, but powers of attorney, executors, what happens with those?
- Great question. Your executor and your power of attorney. These are really important people if you were to pass away or become incapable for whatever reason. So these individuals are often dealing with your property, assets, financial affairs, and even medical decisions.
And so that's why having them in the same province is really critical, so they can fulfill on those duties. So you'll want to consider who you have named, and does it make sense for you to name somebody new now within this new jurisdiction?
- What about-- we're talking about moving within the country, at this point. But what if you go a bit farther afield to another country. I'm assuming there's a bit more that needs to be sorted out then.
- No different that you'll want to have it reviewed, and here's where you're going to want to engage those cross-border specialists. So you know, here in Canada, we have some cold winters. We have some retirees that we call snowbirds, of course, that go down south for some warmer weather.
Sometimes they have property, they have assets that are in the US, for example. And these assets could be subject to taxation or different rules and regulations. And so that's where you may want to investigate these strategies of multiple wills. You may also want to consider having multiple executors or powers of attorney, because as we discussed, they're dealing with your affairs and having them local is really critical so that they can carry out their duties.
And so that's when you'll want to review not just the document, but the people associated with it, and engaging-- I can't emphasize enough-- engaging those cross-border experts to really give you the right advice for your personal circumstances.
- We heard you. Talk to somebody. It's important. Julie, thanks so much. Julie Seberras from TD Wealth. And if you have any questions, you want to ask MoneyTalk a question, send an email to moneytalk@td.com. Put Ask MoneyTalk in the subject line. Ask your question. We'll find the right person to answer your question, and then you can find it on MoneyTalkGo.com.
[AUDIO LOGO]
[MUSIC PLAYING]